Southeastern Wisconsin's first Diverging Diamond Interchange: How does it work?
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- It's a project that's been years in the making, and this Saturday, southeastern Wisconsin’s first Diverging Diamond Interchange is set to open at I-43 and Brown Deer Road.
"I'm looking forward to the construction being done so we've got an exit ramp and an entrance ramp here,” said driver John Frost.
Thousands of cars travel across the Brown Deer Road Interchange daily. Facing construction and closures, drivers are anxious to try the area's first Diverging Diamond Interchange.
"I'm not exactly sure how everyone is going to maneuver it, including myself," said Debbie Sladky, who co-owns Atypic Gallery, a local business near the interchange. "I'm sure there is going to be really good signage, so we will all get through it."
Here's how it works. At the first light, you drive through, crossing to the opposite side of the road. If you are merging onto I-43, you get off left at the ramp. If you're driving through, you follow the second light, where drivers will be shifted back to the right side of the road.
"I think it's going to be hopefully an improvement, so we will see," said Frost.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation says this interchange reduces the number of ways cars can collide by almost 50%.
"By having that free flow, you no longer have traffic coming toward you," said Steve Hoff, with WisDOT. "It's a completely separated movement, so it will be a safer movement."
With a pedestrian walkway in the middle and a smoother flow of traffic, local business owners are hoping this will bring in more customers.
"We've had to get off at other exits and maneuver our way to our store, and it's been going on for several years," said Sladky. "We are anxious for it to move forward and finally open up."